What section 52 requires
Under the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic), every retail lease is taken to include a repair obligation on the landlord, whatever the lease itself says. Section 52 makes the landlord responsible for maintaining:
- the structure of the premises, and the fixtures in them;
- plant and equipment at the premises; and
- the appliances, fittings and fixtures the landlord provides under the lease for gas, electricity, water, drainage or other services.
A lease term is void to the extent that it is inconsistent with the Act, including the terms the Act reads into the lease (s 94). A retail lease can still make the tenant responsible for other work, such as its own fit-out, but it cannot take this obligation away from the landlord.
Section 52 applies only to retail leases. If you are not sure, read does the Retail Leases Act apply to my lease. Our guide to the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) covers the rest of the Act.
The standard, and the exceptions
The landlord must keep those things in a condition consistent with their condition when the lease was entered into. Section 52 does not, by itself, require the landlord to make the premises better than they were then, but it does require the landlord to stop them falling below that condition.
The landlord is not responsible for maintaining a thing where:
- the need for the repair arises out of misuse by the tenant; or
- the tenant is entitled or required to remove it at the end of the lease, which will often include the tenant’s own fit-out.
Evidence of that starting condition matters. A dated condition report with photographs, made around the time the lease is signed, helps both sides later, on repairs and on make good at the end of the lease.
Urgent repairs
If something the landlord must maintain breaks down, tell the landlord or its agent in writing and ask for the repair. If the landlord does not act, section 52 lets the tenant arrange urgent repairs itself where:
- the repairs are needed to fix a fault or damage that has, or causes, a substantial effect on the tenant’s business at the premises; and
- the tenant has been unable to get the landlord or its agent to carry out the repairs, despite taking reasonable steps to arrange for them to do so.
The right covers urgent repairs the landlord is responsible for under section 52 or under the lease. If the tenant carries out the repairs:
- the tenant must give the landlord written notice of the repairs and their cost within 14 days after the repairs are carried out; and
- the landlord must reimburse the tenant for the reasonable cost, and cannot recover any of that cost as an outgoing.
Keep your requests, the landlord’s replies, quotes, invoices and photographs. They are your evidence if the cost is disputed.
When the landlord does not act
Failing to repair can cost a landlord more than the repair.
- Compensation (s 54). Under a retail lease, the landlord must pay reasonable compensation for loss or damage (other than nominal damage) caused by a failure to rectify, as soon as practicable, a breakdown of plant or equipment not under the tenant’s care or maintenance, or a defect in the premises or the building. Defects due to a condition that would have been reasonably apparent to the tenant when it entered into, renewed or took an assignment of the lease are excluded. Compensation is also payable where the landlord neglects to clean, maintain or repair the building or centre adequately. The tenant must give written notice of the loss as soon as practicable, although failing to do so does not remove the right.
- Investigating a suspected defect. The Court of Appeal has held that a landlord’s covenant to maintain, in an office lease, required the landlord to investigate once it was on notice of a possible structural defect. The landlord had engineering advice recommending further investigation and did not act on it. That failure, over a substantial period, was a repudiation, and the tenant was entitled to terminate the lease, even though a later report found no structural defect. The decision turned on that lease and a potential safety risk. Section 52 is also framed as a duty of maintaining, so the reasoning may be relevant to retail leases.
- Ending the lease. Terminating for the landlord’s breach is a serious step. If the breach is not serious enough, a tenant who moves out may itself be in breach. Take advice first, and see ending a lease early.
A repair dispute under a retail lease generally goes to mediation at the Victorian Small Business Commission before VCAT can hear it, unless an injunction is sought. See lease disputes.
For landlords. Answer repair requests promptly and in writing. If a tenant reports a possible defect, have it investigated and act on the advice. Give notice before alterations that may affect the tenant’s business. Each step reduces the risk of a compensation claim or a termination.
Essential safety measures and alterations
An essential safety measure has the meaning given in the Building Regulations 2018 (Vic). Since 23 September 2020, section 52 has allowed a tenant to agree with the landlord to carry out repairs or maintenance of an essential safety measure on the landlord’s behalf. That work does not affect the landlord’s own obligations as owner of the building under the building legislation. Section 52 also does not limit a tenant’s obligation under the lease to contribute to outgoings for that work.
Separately, the landlord must not start an alteration or refurbishment of the building or centre that is likely to affect the tenant’s business adversely unless it has given the tenant written notice at least 60 days before, or the work is needed because of an emergency and the landlord has given as much notice as is reasonably practicable (s 53).
Repaint and re-carpet clauses
Many leases require the tenant to repaint or re-carpet at set intervals. Tenants have argued that, in a retail lease, such a clause is inconsistent with section 52 and so void. In a 2024 decision on an injunction application, VCAT found no serious issue that a clause of this kind was inconsistent with section 52, because the work fell due at set times regardless of the condition of the paint or carpet. That was an early-stage decision, the argument has been raised in other cases, and it may be argued again. For now, assume such a clause will be enforced, and negotiate it before you sign.
A related rule: a retail lease term requiring the tenant to refurbish or refit the premises is void unless it gives enough detail to indicate generally the nature, extent and timing of the work (s 58).
Offices, warehouses and factories
Section 52 applies only to retail leases. Under other leases, the lease decides who repairs what. In general, the law does not imply a duty on a landlord of commercial premises to repair them, and many office, warehouse and factory leases put most repairs on the tenant, sometimes including structural work. The Court of Appeal decision above concerned an office lease, so a landlord’s express covenant to maintain can still carry real weight. Read the repair, maintenance and make-good clauses together. A lease review before you sign is the time to get this right.
How we help
- Advice for tenants on what the landlord must repair, and on urgent repairs and reimbursement.
- Letters requesting repairs, and notices of urgent repairs and their cost.
- Compensation claims, and advice before a tenant withholds rent or ends the lease.
- For landlords: responding to repair requests and claims, and repair clauses that comply with the Act.
- Mediation at the Small Business Commission, and VCAT proceedings.
Start with a free 15-minute phone call. For other work, we quote in writing before we start.
Common questions
Can’t see your question? Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message.
The structure and fixtures, plant and equipment, and the appliances and fittings the landlord provides for services such as gas, electricity and water, kept in a condition consistent with their condition when the lease was entered into. The exceptions are repairs needed because of the tenant’s misuse, and things the tenant may or must remove at the end of the lease.
Under a retail lease, yes, for urgent repairs to a fault that substantially affects your business, if you have taken reasonable steps to get the landlord to do them without success. Give the landlord written notice of the repairs and the cost within 14 days after they are done. The landlord must reimburse the reasonable cost.
Be careful. Withholding rent without a clear legal basis can put you in breach and give the landlord grounds to act against you. Take advice first: urgent repairs or a compensation claim may be the safer course. Damaged premises are different, because a retail lease may give a rent abatement.
Only as the lease provides. Section 52 applies to retail leases. Under other leases, the repair and maintenance clauses decide.
A retail lease can require the tenant to contribute to essential safety measure repairs and maintenance as an outgoing, and the tenant may agree to do that work on the landlord’s behalf. Neither changes the landlord’s obligations as building owner under the building legislation.
Law referred to
- Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) ss 3 (definition of essential safety measure), 52, 53, 54, 58, 87 and 94.
- Building Regulations 2018 (Vic), referred to in the definition of essential safety measure.
- Brotherhood of St Laurence v Sarina Investments Pty Ltd [2024] VSCA 46.
- Deng and Deng Pty Ltd v McPhee [2024] VCAT 1025.
Last reviewed: October 2026, by a Victorian solicitor with a current practising certificate. This page is general information about Victorian law as at October 2026. It is not legal advice about your lease.
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